Warm up those 23 channel SSB radios (or even a newer 40ch model), because there should be a lot of WWDX members (and other stations) bringing SSB "Skip" back to channel 16!! Should 16 become a mad house, or, if you'd like to carry on a longer QSO, the secondary channel will be 23.
I'll have a mix of old and new radios on the air, but you can bet I'll have my Midland 13-880b and Lafayette Telsat SSB-25 ready to go. I hope to hear some of you on 16LSB next weekend, and keep an ear out for 2014 (card at the bottom)!!
When FM was approved for Citizens Band radios most people yawned. Why? well, anyone serious enough to want to use FM usually bought either an Export radio, or one of the many 10 meter radios - easily converted to 11 meters.
But new radios, at a low price, began selling to those who wanted to dip their toes into the sometimes murky waters known as Citizens Band radio (NEWS ALERT!! CB is not dead, nor dying). Of the two major players in CB radios who pushed to get FM legalized, Cobra and President, only President has come out with guns blazing, while perplexingly, Cobra was slow out of the gate, and somewhat expensive, compared to other manufacturers.
I'm neither an AM or FM guy, I used SSB exclusively, with the occasional trip to ch.19 while on the road, so for these radios I've viewed numerous Reviews on YouTube to gather intel. Some of the videos, of which I have no personal or business affiliation, will be included.
ENTRY LEVEL AM/FM RADIOS
1
Radioddity CB-27 Pro AM-FM small size CB radio.
You can't find a new AM/FM CB for any less. It's a bargain. The radio features 40-Channel Mini Mobile with AM FM Instant Emergency Channel 9/19, 4W Power Output, LCD Display, VOX, RF Gain, and Handheld Mic.
UPSIDES
It had just about every feature you would need, and it's so small it will fit into just about any compact vehicle that lacks room to mount most radios.
DOWNSIDES
The microphone is not removable, nor is the DC power cord
WHAT COMES IN THE BOX
The radio comes with everything you need except the antenna, and the power cord plugs into any accessory jack (formerly known as the cigarette lighter jack) in you vehicle
It would be hard to find one less expensive (except for possibly AMAZON or WALMART "Black Friday" sales).This radio has been around for 3 years, but it remains on this list due to the price, and features.
Retevis MB1 AM/FM CB Radio Kit
$99.99*
[*AT THE TIME THIS BLOG POST WAS WRITTEN, 11/20/2024, THE RADIO IS ON SALE FROM AMAZON IN A KIT THAT INCLUDES A MAGNETIC MOUNT ANTENNA FOR THIS PRICE]
It's $30 dollars higher for color screen selections and a removable microphone, but for only $10 more you can get a kit that includes and magnetic mount antenna. Having a microphone that is not removable can be a deal breaker, and if you fall within that group this may be your entry level ticket to CB radio. A manual can be downloaded from the Retevis website.
Features:
AM/FM mode; enables citizen band radio not only to have clear sound
quality; but also to have a long talking distance; making it convenient
to keep a constant connection while driving
Noise-handle function; SQ/ASQ/NB/HI-CUT function effectively reduces
the background noise in driving; offer a clear sound quality for high
communication efficiency
Compact size; the size is 124x101x36mm/4.9x4.0x1.4inch; the weight is
0.8kg/1.76Ib; CB radio for off-roading is easy to carry from home to the
vehicle and install and won’t take up too much space; package includes
mounting bracket
CB radio for emergency communication; supports switching chanenl 9/19
with one-key; helps you transfer the traffic or road conditions; ensures
your safety when you get into trouble during severe weather while
driving
7-color adjustable backlight; CB mobile radio with LCD screen is easy
to read the channel information in both daytime and nighttime
RF gain; is used to adjust your receive sensitivity; help you receive
the farthest signals possible; achieve convenient and efficient
communication while driving
VOX hands-free; talk without pressing the PTT button; users can focus on the traffic information and ensure driving safety
At $139.95, the Cobra 29 is the most expensive of these 3 radios, as well, the Cobra 29 moniker has been on radios since the 23 channel radio era, manufactured in a long list of countries (I think it's now made in China). The radio has a 4-pin mic connector, which should make some folks happy as well.
FEATURES:
Classic CB Design – Cobra’s classic CB radio has been the standard of
excellence in professional CB radios for over 50 years. This radio is
durable, reliable, and full-featured with 4 watts of power and access to
all 40 CB channels.
Dual-Mode AM/FM – Efficient communication while on the road just got
easier. This CB radio provides access to both AM and FM channels,
allowing communication with more users, long range or near, and with
better sound quality.
Easy to Operate - Ergonomic design with intuitive controls make this
radio easy to operate. The included 9-foot microphone cable makes it
simple to speak into and reach regardless of vehicle size and results in
less clutter vs storing a longer cable.
Instant Access to Channel 9 – CB radios provide reliable communication
which is not dependent on satellites and cellular networks. Get access
to all 40 CB radio channels and instantly access emergency channel 9 to
get updates from law enforcement.
SWR Antenna Calibration – If your CB antenna is hit with tree branches
or other items, adjust and calibrate SWR meter for optimum antenna
performance and get notified when your SWR antenna needs to be checked
with the illuminated indicator.
Adjustable Receiver Sensitivity – Stay connected and clearly
communicate when it matters most. Easily adjust RF Gain sensitivity to
reduce background noise and static without reducing reception, resulting
in the best signal while on the road.
It has the standard 4-pin mic jack, so you don't have to rewire any microphones you have that are currently working on older 4-pin Cobra or Uniden radios. The biggest (pun intended) downside to this radio is its dimensions - this is a full size CB radio.
The last radio mentioned is relatively new, released in the second half of this year. Like the Cobra 29, the CB-900 Pro is a full size radio, which may cause a problem finding a place to mount it in your vehicle. IMHO, the Cobra 29 LTD Classic is a better looking radio, but looks are subjective, and I've seen several videos, and have read comments from owners who like the look of this radio.
*NOTE: At the time this Blog post was written, you could buy this radio for $119.95 with a free external speaker on Amazon.
Instead of the usual chrome bezel, this one is flat black, which matches the upper and lower covers, as well as the mounting bracket. The face plate looks like it's possibly brushed chrome, but it's hard to tell just by looking at the photo.
For the price, this radio has a lot to offer a CB road warrior beyond the usual full size CB mobile radio:
Additional noise reduction which can be used in conjunction with the usual NB/ANL found on the usual CB radios (i.e. - Cobra 29 LTD)
Talkback
NOAA Weather channels and alert, almost a necessary feature these days
VOX for hands-free talking
A digital meter that can give you the usual S/RF readings and more. I'd suggest downloading the manual to see all that you can do via the menu as well, which can be found on this page.
2 VIDEOS THAT LOOK AT THE CB-900 PRO [once again, I have no affiliation with these YouTube channels, but I often rely on them myself when choosing a radio for myself or a family member]
VIDEO 2:
These are just a few of the legal CB radios available to you this year, and while these seem to have received the most attention, I implore you to see what else you can find in the U.S. market, as well as download the manuals for each radio you're interested in, and compare notes. From the ones I've just mentioned, there are 2 full size radios, and 2 radios that are much smaller, and depending on your situation - necessary to meet the space restrictions of smaller vehicles. I'd love to say I tried each one, but I'm not an AM/FM kinda guy. In part two I'll cover radios that I've actually owned and operated:
President McKinley
President George FCC
President Washington
Retevis HS4
Radioddity QT-60
Radioddity QT-60 PRO
Uniden 980 SSB
Some of these I've already done reviews on, and you can find them by using the search box for my Blog, in the upper left top section of the Blog. I'm trying to get this one (part one) online, before the Black Friday deals come and go, and hope to finish up part two when I return, including the long delayed review of the new President Washington.
This radio won't break the bank if your a Technician class amateur radio operator. Very often on sale for $199.99 either through Amazon or the Retevis website. I happened upon this one on Amazon, which was still on sale, and there was a coupon to clip for 10% off, saving me another $20, so after sales tax the total came to around $191 (not too shabby).
When I took it out of its box, and glancing at each side of the covers, I found it ironic that this radio didn't have any manufacturer "break this seal and void your warranty" stickers. Ironic, because to modify this radio, you don't have to take the covers off the radio - it's all done via the front panel (*Hint: don't pay a dealer $20 or more to convert this radio).
1. Large LCD panel which displays frequency and all kinds of information 2. DUAL-DIGITAL TUBE FOR CHANNEL DISPLAY 3. USE EL technology for backlight 4. PA-CW-AM-FM-USB-LSB mode 5. A-B-C-D-E-F-6 modes in total, where 60 channels at least can be individually programmed. 6. Frequency Tuning Step can be 10HZ, 100HZ, 1KHZ or 10KHZ. 7. Multiple CLARIFIER Operating Modes 8. Flexible menu functions and PC programming software to meet varied customer demands 9. ECHO Function 10. SQ, ASQ Function (FM and AM mode only) 11. RF GAIN ADJUSTMENT 12. RF Power ADJUSTMENT 13. SCAN FUNCTION 14. RB FUNCTION 15. NB/ANL FUNCTION 16. DW DUAL -WATCH FUNCTION 17. BEEP VOICE PROMPT 18. +10KHZ Function 19. SWR/S/RF/DC Voltage display function 20. TOT function 21. HI-CUT FUNCTION 22. EMG CALL 23. SWR PROTECTION 24. POWER SUPPLIED VOLTAGE PROTECTION 25. Key-Lock Function 26. VOX function 27. CTCSS/DCS code 28. RX compander: noise blanker 29. Noise gate setting: mic noise adjustable 30. RX Noise Reduction 31. Compatible with“electronic" and“dynamic" MIC type
It's a 1-35 watt radio on SSB, 1-40 watts on FM, and only 1-12 watts in either the AM or CW modes. Not a powerhouse on SSB, but no slouch either. I can only assume that they expect the radio operator to set it for 1 or 2 watts on AM, to let an external linear amplifier do the heavy lifting. Nonetheless, it is kinda low, but I'll hold off on a final verdict until after I check it on the watt meter.
The following information (Specifications, and menu settings) comes from the owners manual (available off Retevis's website) -
As noted in the title field, this is part review and part first look, and as usual, as time goes by I'll update this particular Blog Post. So as a first look, I've drawn some conclusions, of which I'll share with you now:
WHAT I LIKED
The price is right (usually under $200). Unless you buy something in the used market, this is your ticket to 10 meters.
The Roger Beep. It's an honest-to-God single beep. I can't tell you how many radios offer a variety of beeps to choose from, and not one has the original singular tone beep. Kudos to Retevis!
It has a 4-pin side mounted mic jack, and yes, if you have another microphone wired for a 4-pin Cobra or Uniden, it'll work fine. I'm currently using a Turner Super Sidekick desk microphone on this radio.
The radio is programmable and it comes with a programming cable. The software is available on the Retevis website(bottom of the page).
If you modify this and use it like a CB you have the option to turn the main display off and only use the channel selector, but you'll lose all other information as well (s/rf meter, whether the NB is on or off, etc.).
The noise compander / reduction works well. Keep it set to a minimum though, to avoid that watery sound. *I did do a quick double take when I saw it called the noise compander. It's the only other time I've seen that description (the first time was with a Cherokee 150 SSB mobile radio).
It's a nice large size radio - good for a base station
Easy to modify. Hold Function and EMG key down when powering up radio. Display shows 1 Band. Turn channel selector to 2 Band and reset.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
You can turn off the display, but not the channel selector, and turning off the display means losing the RF-S meter, along with other information.
The Clarifier isn't smooth, rather a click-click-click control. Yet, on the other hand... because the new breed of radios are on frequency, you may never have to use it (I haven't thus far).
The band switching is divided into banks from A - F, and unlike other newer radios, there is no SPAN selection, so you have to use the bands as they're setup. It's a small gripe, but I guess I got spoiled by other radios.
It's a nice large radio - not that great if you have limited space to mount something in your vehicle.
The volume control. Yes, it's my pet peeve, but nonetheless something important to me. Like every radio with an Anytone board in it, the volume control is not linear. Turning the volume control clockwise takes you from no volume to BOOM!! a volume level that is low, but not as low as it should be. If there was a numerical setting, I'd say it goes from no volume to level 2 volume. This is not a radio I would use if it was late at night and family members were asleep, or, if I wanted it at a just low enough level to hear if a friend of mine was now on the frequency. If President can get this, why can't Anytone, Retevis, Radioddity, and others?
12 watts on AM. This for someone who uses AM a lot (not me). However, it will swing to roughly 35w with modulation.
No memory function. There aren't any memories to plug your favorite frequencies into, albeit, most radios only offer 4 memory channels.
To sum it up: This radio almost seems to be a radio caught between the old world of 10m/export radios, and the new world of enhanced noise blanking and auto squelch. There are other radios you could consider, but none usually fall under the $200 price point. However, most of those other radios will offer 12 meters as well as 10. If a new ham were to ask me about it, I would recommend this transceiver to him without prejudice.
If you're a tech looking to spend the least amount of money on a new radio to get you talking on 10 meters, this is certainly one you should consider. Whether you have an interest in CW now, or even if you don't, the jack on the back makes it very simple should you want to try CW later on, just plug in your key and start tapping. Right now is THE time to utilize 10 meters! It's usually a quiet band. For example, the 11m CB band might be going crazy with skip (DX), yet 10 meters is quiet as a cemetery.
I've been on 10m recently, and a contest was in progress. It was almost impossible to find a clear frequency to call "CQ" without interfering with another station that afternoon, so I jumped in several pileups and found myself competing with stations that were pumping out over 500 watts, yet I remained hopefully persistent with my less than 100w radio. This paid off and I made contacts in several European countries, the UK, and more. While FT8 and other digital modes certainly have their place, nothing gets your blood pumping faster than a hard-to-reach station coming back and acknowledging your call sign.
UPDATE: 11.07.2024
This is weird, and I'm checking menus to make sure there isn't a setting I missed, but I went on one channel and turned the Roger Beep "ON", but when I changed channels, RB was OFF. I had to turn it ON again with each channel change.
The same thing happened with NB/ANL. Turned it ON while on one channel, and it was OFF on the next channel change. It seems that whatever you turn on/off, you'll have to do it on each channel. I haven't tried programming it, but I'm pretty sure I can set something ON for all channels, but c'mon Retevis, if I press NB/ANL on one channel, it should remain ON on all channels - unless turned OFF.
Has anyone else run across this weird issue?
UPDATE: 11.09.2024
Playing around with the band switch I moved down 5kc to anought frequency (28.480 vs. 28.485), then moved the band switch to another bank, which brought the frequencies back to the 5's(28.485, 495, etc.). Switching back to the other band (and frequency) I found it had remembered it was the way I left it (on the nought). Powering the radio off and back on didn't change it. This is kinda cool if you want to hang out on 28.480, but on the5's elsewhere. This may explain what I experienced on the previous update. Nonetheless, it's not enough to make up for what happens with something as mundane as NB/ANL.
One last thing - last night I was sandbagging on the local frequency and the station very close to my QTH sounded slightly distorted. I compared it to how it sounded on an FT-710, and the 710 was clearer, without distortion. Backing down the RF Gain slightly on the HS4 fixed that.
I've had a chance to compare the HS4 with a half dozen or so radios, and it seems no better or worse when it comes to the adjacent channel rejection.
UPDATE: 11.15.2024
Atmospheric conditions seemed to be the cause of the some distortion mentioned above, possibly not affecting my FT-701 as much, because the receiver (and filtering) is so much better. Then again, 10 meters can be a funky band to operate on. I'm really struggling to decide if the HS4 is a "keeper". I've mentioned my dislikes already, as for the "likes", the 4-pin mic jack is great (no more re-wiring mics to an RJ-45, 6-pin or 8-pin connector, and no mic adapter).
Locally, I've received compliments on my audio and during an A/B test between a Turner Super Sidekick and a Turner +3 desk mic, the +3 came out on top. Not only was the audio consistently stronger (it has a built-in speech compressor), but it had a pleasing low end (bass), whereas the Super Sidekick's strength was having higher pitched audio, so a Plus 3 was good for local rag chewing, and the SSK would be a tad better in getting through DX and a crowded pileup.
35 watts vs. an 80 watt radio doesn't make a lot of difference (it takes a 4x increase in output power to gain 1 S-unit at the other end), so it seems to boil down to the way the volume control acts. Currently, either late at night, or early in the morning, I use another radio to allow my ears to get the lowest possible volume to listen - without disturbing the rest of the household. If you have already owned, or own a radio like the Quad 5, QT-60, or QT-60Pro, and if you don't mind it now, you won't notice a difference with the HS4.
While I haven't done it yet, I plan to look under the covers, and see how hard it would be to add a resistor in series to the volume control. I had a wild thought that if I added some resistance it might give me more of a gradual increase in volume vs. the "no sound - jump to a preset level", nowhere close to the gradual gain experienced in ham radios or other CB radios, both modern (President Washington) and elderly (Cobra 138XLR).
UPDATE: 11.19.2024
I ran across an issue I hadn't seen since I bought one of the first RCI 2950 radios - Inconsistency when changing frequencies/channels. What does that mean you ask? It's when your on a channel (example: 38) and want to go to 37, but instead, it goes up to 39. Another observation was when I was on 38 and moved the selector down one channel to get to 37, and it while it did change channel going down, it did it 2 channels at a time so I ended up on 36.
The first time I went from 38 to 37, and got 39 instead, I thought I had turned the channel selector the wrong way. Several nights later it did it again, and I was verifying which way the selector went after that first time so I could confirm that I was doing it correctly, but the radio wasn't - and yes, I turned the selector correctly. This doesn't happen every day, in fact it's quite sporadic, and quickly remedied by moving the selector the other way, and then back to where I was originally going.
Keep this in mind when shopping for a new rig.
Otherwise, the click-click-click clarifier, and difficulty in seeing the display in various lighting situations, has made a good case for not running this mobile, however, as a base radio it would not be an issue.
UPDATE: 11.27.2024
Sent the radio back and got another one. Same issues (have to set NB of RB for each individual channel. As I've written earlier, some of the radio I like, and some I don't. I'm sure you'll have your own battle about whether to keep it or not. Unless it smokes, dies, fries, etc. this will be the last update about this radio.
DISCLAIMER: I don't know this guy from Adam, and have no reciprocal relationship between his YouTube channel and my Blog. But since I rarely post anything on YouTube anymore, I wanted you to see, what I believe to be, one of the best videos on this radio. Enjoy!
If I left something out from my notes, or have an update, it will be added to this Blog Post. In the meantime - "May all of your DX dreams come true.."
